Tooth removal under sedation or general anaesthetic?

[BottomleyPottsSpots]

Hi
I have dental anxiety. I'm due to have a wisdom tooth (bottom) and upper back molar removed and am being referred to have it done in a decent NHS dental hospital under sedation.

I am not sure I can face just having it done under sedation, but they were quite clear that they don't use general anaesthetic for this :(

I looked at the price of having this done privately under GA. It would be thousands. We could afford it but it would put such a major hole in our finances that I don't think I could justify it.

Do you think I could ask for REALLY heavy sedation? I've had sedated treatment before, and can always remember everything that has happened, and the pain :(

I just want to cry (in fact I have been). Can anyone guide me or commiserate, reassure .... anything really?!

The sedation is pretty heavy. As in you won't know what's going on or remember it afterwards. I had a gastroscope recently and can vouch for all of that. I too was sceptical and really wanted a general, but I as told no. The dental sedation clinic staff are used to people who feel like you, so don't be afraid to make your feelings known, they're there to help.

Sedation is absolutely fantastic in my experience. I had no idea the procedure had even been done and was asking when it would start after it was all finished. I'd definitely recommend it.

That's reassuring bonzo77 - I've had sedation at my normal dentist but I think it has been rather light and I've been okay to walk out of the surgery without any help 10 mins later.

I'm hoping for some more hefty drugs that pole-axe me for a while. That would be nice ...

I had an upper molar removed not long ago. Just with usual dental injection anaesthetic and whilst is was not pleasant, there was no pain.

My Mum has had a tooth removed by a consultant dentist with sedation, and knew nothing about it. I think they give you something like rohypnol(?) and you frget everything afterwards. It seems really weird to me, but my Dad had the same during a knee replacement done under epidural. Perhaps you can find a dental surgeon who can do this?

Cross-post ReadySteadyNo - thank you also. Was your sedation for a tooth extraction too, if you don't mind me asking?

My DH is a dentist. He assures me you won't remember a thing.

I had my wisdom teeth removed in the dental department of a hospital, and the sedation was much heavier than anything I've ever had at my normal dentist - e.g. I had to stay in for a few hours after, they wouldn't let me go home alone (in fact they wouldn't let me get public transport, my mum picked me up and they made her promise to get a cab back to mine...) I was nervous beforehand but completely relaxed during it, and don't remember any of it. I think the sedation available in hospital is much heavier, and they will be really used to people who are very anxious. Good luck x

Ah thank you, I'm crying for a different reason now - there are some terrifying threads elsewhere on t'internet about dentists having to kneel on the patient's chest and pull or similar, and I'd got myself in a right state.

I am constantly flummoxed by my dental anxiety. I don't understand it. I'm a bloody psychologist.

I've had teeth out, as a teen, at my local dentist with just local anaesthetic and it was horrible. So I cried a lot when I was told I needed a wisdom tooth out. I thought I had been referred to the hospital so I could have it out under sedation. Actually it was just because my dentist doesn't do wisdom teeth at his practice, so when the hospital told me they would do it with a local, I had a huge panic and cried some more. When they saw the state of me they immediately said sedation would be fine.

I had it out at the hospital under sedation and it was amazing. I remember talking to the nurse whilst sitting up in the chair. Next thing I remember is waking up in a different recovery room lying on a bed.
Apparently I walked from the dental room to the recovery room, I have no idea at all. The sedation absolutely did the trick, I would highly reccomend it.

I had a tooth out under sedation earlier this year, it was bloody fabulous, I vaguely remember bits of it but from a happy place, I had to stay in for an hour to be observed and had to be taken home and have an adult with me for 24 hours but to be honest im that anxious about everything anyway it wore off quite quickly. My brother is a mental health nurse and he said im normally so highly strung that the sedation probably just made me feel like a normal person

Don't google, people are dicks when it comes to these things and try to make it sound as dramatic as possible.

No dentist has ever ever put their knee anywhere near a patients body whilst taking a tooth out. People who say this are lying and delight in winding anxious people up.

As a previous sedater and sedatee (Does that even make sense), it's a fantastic way of carrying out a procedure, patients have no memory, no concept of the time that has passed during the procedure and you are given anesthetic in exactly the same way as a non sedated patient so it's also painless. You're closely monitored during the sedation and you must be escorted for 24 hours as there's the remote possibility that you will "re-sedate" which is associated with other risk factors.
I'd jump at sedation rather than GA as the recovery time is much much shorter. Plus sedation is really lovely

Had a wisdom tooth out earlier this year with sedation. It was lovely and floaty light, I felt spectacularly unconcerned about anything!

Also, I had it done at dental hospital as it was a tricky one and the staff were fantastic, really put me at ease.

Bless you I've never had sedation. But I've had lots of teeth out and some tricky ones too! It is nerve racking, but you won't feel anything.
I'm having my wisdom out at a specialist practice too, they have said I can have sedation, I think? But I'm going to stick with local.
You will be fine and you've had some really reassuring comments on here.

Hello, yes mine was for tooth extraction. I'd actually been for a routine removal and had to have them stop because I hated it so much. The sedation was a huge revelation and if I had to have anything else done to my teeth I'd be fine as long as I could have that again. If there's anything else you'd like to know I'm happy to answer if I can be any use.

I've had dental work under sedation and a general. The sedation was great except that my procedure had to be pushed back a number of hours and by the time they got to me I felt pretty wobbly from low blood sugar ( still had to fast from the night before.) I actually felt better after I came to as they had kindly given me a saline drip!

The general was pretty ghastly. Felt very nauseous afterwards and vomited a number of times (complete with swallowed blood, urgh.)

I had a wisdom out under NHS seadation. It was great (well, maybe not compared with a few drinks in a swanky wine bar, but great compared with the alternative). Even took DH

general anaesthetic is the best if you don't want to remember that nightmare

I remember nothing of the extraction by the way (not sure if there are different types of sedation used for dental procedure.) My wisdom tooth was completely under the gum so pretty sure there would have been lots of blood and tooth yanking going on!

Mine was done in hospital by an oral surgeon. It was a proper operating table with heart monitors etc. The last thing I remember before waking up was a nurse putting those nasal oxygen prongs in my nose. They kept falling out and they ended up having to use tape to keep them place. I thought it was hilarious

I had my wisdom tooth out under general as I fainted in the waiting room for sedation. I am a massive wimp when it comes to the dentist though! It was fine, I was awake in 40 mins and home about an hour after that.

I've had two impacted wisdom teeth removed in an NHS hospital under sedation. I have severe anxiety regarding medical procedures. But this was absolutely fine. I have no memory of the procedure at all, even when they gave me more sedation part way through.